Some of OLAWA's Successes

﻿OLAWA came together in 2013 to oppose a proposal by a developer to convert land just outside Sisters (a residential development, nearby farmland and designated open space) into a resort, to be situated right near Whychus Creek.

The project would have granted wholesale exemptions to state and county land use laws to a single developer. We won that fight in the state legislature, two years running.

And we saw the need for a permanent local group that would monitor local development proposals, identify those that don't comply with land use rules, get the word out, AND DEFEAT THEM. We've been working hard at that, ever since.

​Here are some of our notable recent successes.

Over a year-and-a-half-long process, OLAWA members helped draft and push through a new provision which allows Deschutes County not to process land use applications or building permits for properties with existing code violations. This common-sense addition to county code means land use applications on properties that have either an existing code enforcement case or unfilled conditions of approval from a previous land use decision can be denied by the county until the property is in compliance. With OLAWA's strong support, it was approved by county commissioners in December 2015. See background on Ordinance No. 2015-020 here. This new code goes into effect in March 2016.

Helped defeat the latest proposal for Thornburgh Resort, a rural Tumalo development that would have included three golf courses, a water ski lake, 900+ homes, 425 overnight units, a 50-room hotel, and 85 acres of water features. In December 2015 Deschutes County Commissioners upheld the latest in a long string of appeals that have prevented the project from moving forward. However, on December 31, 2015 the resort developer appealed this decision to LUBA (the state Land Use Board of Appeals). Stay tuned.

Earned a spot on the Deschutes Basin Study Work Group, an effort to help define how water needs for rivers, agriculture and communities will be met for the next 50 years.​

Fought a resort to be sited near Whychus Creek. Stopped a bill in the 2013 legislative session that would have skirted the local rules to build hundreds of new homes outside Sisters' urban growth boundary near Whychus Creek—lands that had been previously set aside as open space (HB 3536; read more here).​

Defeated a 2014 effort to convert Aspen Lakes to a resort. OLAWA spearheaded opposition to the use of special development credits at Aspen Lakes, another attempted end-run around land use laws. We succeeded in restricting “Transfer Development Opportunities” (TDOs) originating in the Metolius basin for building a new destination resort to counties with the highest unemployment, as specified in the original TDO agreement.

In 2014, persuaded planners in Deschutes County to engage in a public input process about Exclusive Farm Use (EFU) lands, rather than listening only to development interests. This assured that a full range of stakeholders weighed in with Deschutes County on a proposal to expand allowable uses on Exclusive Farm Use lands. In 2016, the county is planning to try again to create a new zoning category that would loosen EFU rules.

Rallied successfully against a 2014 bill to exempt rural counties from Oregon’s land use laws altogether (HB 4153 and SB 1578).

In 2015, helped focus the state's fast-track economic development body, Regional Solutions, on water availability and use as top tier issues. And made sure there's more time for public input, so there's advance notice on how to participate.

Headed off County efforts to rezone five specific rural parcels under the guise of “correcting mapping errors” by pointing out how the proposal conflicts with state law. OLAWA persuaded the County to seek clarification from DLCD, which verified this cherry-picking effort was not consistent with statutes.

Actively monitored requests for land use exemptions at the county level, resulting in a more fair process with better consideration of all impacts and stakeholders.